Football Manager 2013 dev hired 17 new staff by cracking down on piracy

Football Manager 13 developers Sports Interactive know full well the dangers of piracy. The studio recently told VG247 that it re-considers launching an Android version on a yearly basis due to rampant piracy on the format. But the team was extra vigilant with last year’s edition and thanks to its anti-piracy measures the studio made enough profit to hire new staff.

MCV reports that Football Manager 2012 sold better in its first two weeks at launch due to increased piracy measures, and in turn gave Sports Interactive more budget to spend on staff for the recently-launched 2013 edition.

Studio director Miles Jacobson told the site, “Last year the measures we took meant the game wasn’t pirated for two week, and the extra sales we got in that two weeks is why we have managed to hire more staff this year.

“The new game has a new system being used, and as of the time of talking the Beta hadn’t been cracked. If we can hold a few more weeks, it would be a benefit to retail and ourselves. And ultimately for the consumer, because once again if we do much better this year, we will invest that back into the studio, take on more people and do more features.”

For VG247’s full interview with Jacobson on the matter of piracy and Football Manager 2013’s biggest changes, hit the link below: